The Journal of Caribbean Ornithology RESEARCH ARTICLE Vol. 30(1):75–87. 2017 The role of a regional journal as a depository for valuable ornithological data as demonstrated by Caribbean forest endemic birds Eleanor S. Devenish-Nelson Douglas E. Weidemann Jason M. Townsend Howard P. Nelson Photo: Howard P. Nelson A Special Issue on the Status of Caribbean Forest Endemics The Journal of Caribbean Ornithology Special Issue: Status of Caribbean Forest Endemics www.birdscaribbean.org/jco ISSN 1544-4953 RESEARCH ARTICLE Vol. 30(1):75–87. 2017 www.birdscaribbean.org The role of a regional journal as a depository for valuable ornithological data as demonstrated by Caribbean forest endemic birds Eleanor S. Devenish-Nelson1,2,3,4, Douglas E. Weidemann3,5, Jason M. Townsend3,6, and Howard P. Nelson1,3,7 Abstract Regional journals publish valuable ecological data, but this importance is often undervalued due to the drive for impact factor and citations in academia. Using Caribbean forest endemic species as a case study, the current review (n = 1,007 studies) examined key characteristics of studies published in the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology (JCO), compared to all other journals (AOJ) cited in Web of Science. Important findings included the unique subject strengths of JCO, such as proportionately more (p < 0.0001) distribution and abundance research papers on Caribbean forest endemic species published in JCO compared to those in AOJ. Research effort in JCO also showed clear geographic patterns, with a significantly higher representation of Cuban ornithological research in JCO than in AOJ (p < 0.001). Although regional authorship made a significant contribution to JCO (p < 0.001), there was a significant decrease over time in regional first authorship in JCO (F = 7.53, r² = 0.26, df = 18, p = 0.013) and in AOJ (F = 12.16, r² = 0.38, df = 20, p = 0.002), suggesting that Caribbean ornithology remains dominated by non-resident scientists. This peer-reviewed, multi-lingual, regional journal provides a valuable, low-cost conduit for the publi- cation of region-specific ornithological data. Given the paucity of data for Caribbean endemic birds, the need to disseminate scientific information at multiple levels, and the growing importance of evidence-based decision-making for conservation, JCO provides a meaningful outlet as a regional data repository and for practitioner-perspective publications. Keywords Caribbean, conservation, endemic, forest-dependent, research effort Resumen El papel de una revista regional como repositorio de importantes datos ornitológicos como lo demuestran las aves de bosque endémicas del Caribe—Las revistas regionales publican importantes datos ecológicos, pero esta importancia es sub- estimada generalmente en la academia por la motivación del factor de impacto y las citas. El siguiente análisis (n = 1.007 estu- dios) examina las características claves de los estudios publicados en el Journal of Caribbean Ornithology (JCO) comparado con otras revistas (AOJ) citadas en la Web of Science y utiliza como caso de estudio las aves de bosque endémicas del Caribe. Dentro de los resultados importantes se incluyeron los singulares puntos fuertes del JCO, tales como una proporción significativamente mayor (p < 0,0001) de artículos de investigación sobre distribución y abundancia de especies de bosque endémicas en el JCO en comparación con AOJ. Los esfuerzos de investigación en el JCO también muestran patrones geográficos claros, con una representación significativamente mayor de investigaciones ornitológicas cubanas en el JCO que en AOJ (p < 0,001). Aunque la autoría regional representa una contribución significativa al JCO (p < 0,001), existió una disminución en el tiempo significativa en la autoría principal regional en el JCO (F = 7,53, r² = 0,26, gl = 18, p = 0,013) y en AOJ (F = 12,16, r² = 0,38, gl = 20, p = 0,002), lo que sugiere que la ornitología en el Caribe permanece dominada por científicos no residentes. Esta revista regional, multilingüe y arbitrada proporciona una vía valiosa y de bajo costo para la publicación de datos ornitológicos específicos de la región. Dada la escasez de datos para las aves endémicas del Caribe, la necesidad de difundir información científica a múltiples niveles y la importancia creciente de la toma de decisiones para la conservación basadas en evidencias, el JCO ofrece una salida significati- va como repositorio de datos regional y para publicaciones con perspectivas profesionales. Palabras clave bosque-dependiente, Caribe, conservación, endémicas, esfuerzo de investigación Résumé Le rôle d’une revue régionale en tant que dépôt de données ornithologiques précieuses, comme en témoignent les oiseaux endémiques des forêts des Caraïbes—Les revues régionales publient de précieuses données écologiques, mais cette importance est souvent sous-évaluée en raison du besoin du facteur d’impact et des citations dans le monde universitaire. En utilisant les espèces endémiques des forêts des Caraïbes comme un étude de cas, l’examen actuel (n = 1.007 études) a 1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Chester, Parkgate examiné les principales caractéristiques des études publiées Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ, UK; 3BirdsCaribbean, 4201 Wilson Blvd. Suite dans Journal of Caribbean Ornithology (JCO), par rapport à 110-174, Arlington, VA 22203, USA; 7e-mail: [email protected]. toutes les autres revues (AOJ) citées dans Web of Science. Les Full list of author information is available at the end of the article. résultats importants comprenaient les sujets d’étude uniques © 2017 Devenish-Nelson et al.; licensee BirdsCaribbean. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Devenish-Nelson et al. 2017. Vol. 30(1):75–87 Value of JCO for Ornithological Data (et le point fort) de JCO, comme proportionnellement plus (p < 0,0001) articles de recherche sur la distribution et l’abondance des espèces endémiques de la forêt des Caraïbes publiées dans JCO par rapport à ceux de AOJ. L’effort de recherche dans JCO a également montré des motifs géographiques clairs, avec une représentation nettement plus élevée de la recherche ornitho- logique cubaine dans JCO que dans AOJ (p < 0,001). Bien que la paternité régionale ait contribué de manière significative à JCO (p < 0,001), il y a eu une diminution significative au fil du temps dans la paternité première régionale dans JCOF ( = 7,53, r² = 0,26, df = 18, p = 0,013) et dans AOJ (F = 12,16, r² = 0,38, df = 20, p = 0,002), suggérant que l’ornithologie des Caraïbes reste dominée par des scientifiques non résidents. Cette revue régionale et multilingue évaluée par des pairs fournit un canal précieux à coûts réduits pour la publication de données ornithologiques spécifiques à la région. Compte tenu de la pénurie de données pour les oiseaux endémiques des Caraïbes, de la nécessité de diffuser l’information scientifique à plusieurs niveaux et de l’importance croissante de la prise de décisions factuelle pour la conservation, JCO fournit une exutoire significative en tant que dépôt régional de données et pour des publications dans la perspective des practiciens. Mots clés Caraïbe, conservation, dépendent de la forêt, effort de recherche, endémique Many international ornithological journals are moving away The Journal of Caribbean Ornithology (JCO; formerly known as El from publishing valuable natural history data (Freile et al. 2014). Pitirre from 1988 to 2002) is published by BirdsCaribbean (for- However, the increasing number of regional ornithological jour- merly the Society of Caribbean Ornithology and the Society nals (Bautista and Pantoja 2000) have the potential to fill this for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds), the largest role, and indeed, much useful ornithological data are published ornithological conservation organization in the Caribbean. This in such journals (Mugica et al. 2012, Freile et al. 2014). Globally, subject-specific and regional peer-reviewed journal offers an regional journals make an important contribution to scientific opportunity for authors of scientific or conservation studies on knowledge across all disciplines (Stergiou and Tsikliras 2006, Ti- Caribbean birds to publish their valuable ornithological data. Its jssen 2007, Mugica et al. 2012, Packer 2014). Yet, the pressure position as the main regional ornithological journal allows it to in academia to publish in high impact factor journals (Lawrence leverage expertise from across the Americas to ensure rigorous 2008) causes regional journals to be undervalued (Tijssen et al. evaluation of papers accepted for publication in the journal. 2006, Packer 2014). Such journals tend not to be cited in major In this paper, we explore some key differences in the focus of citation indices and thus their low international visibility means JCO compared to other Web of Science–referenced journals, that they are not highly citable (Tijssen 2007). This low citabil- and explore JCO’s role as a regional ornithological resource. A ity reduces the incentive for researchers to publish in regional recent review of published literature on Caribbean forest-depen- journals. The lack of visibility also leads to the underrepresenta- dent endemic birds (E.S. Devenish-Nelson et al. unpubl. data) tion of scientific effort (Stergiou and Tsikliras 2006, Tijssen et al. found that